Black And White Film Photography Guide

Try Long Exposure. Long exposure shots could work really well in monochrome photography, especially where there’s moving water or clouds. During the exposure the highlights of the water, for example, are recorded across a wider place than they would with a short exposure and this should help enhance tonal contrast. The blurring of the movement also adds textural contrast with any solid objects in the frame. If necessary , use a neutral density filter such as Lee Filters’ Big Stopper or Little Stopper to reduce exposure and extend shutter speed (by 10 and 4 stops respectively). characteristically , when exposures extend beyond with reference to 1/60 sec a tripod is wanted to keep the camera still and avoid blurring. It’s also advisable to use a remote release and mirror lock-up to minimise vibration and produce super-sharp images.

Dodge and Burn. Dodging and burning is a pathway that comes from the traditional darkroom and is usually used to burn in or darken highlights and hold back (brighten) shadows. Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn tools allow a level of control that film photographers could only thought of taking a degree of because you should target the highlights, shadows or mid-tones with both. This means that you can use the Burn tool to darken highlights when they are too bright, or the Dodge tool to brighten them to grow local contrast. It’s a great process of sharing a sense of better sharpness and enhancing texture. Plus, because you could set the opacity of the tools, you should build up their effect gradually so the impact is crafty and there are no hard edges.

Shoot RAW + JPEG. The unsurpassed monochrome conversions are came across by editing raw files which have the full colour information, but if you shoot raw and JPEG files simultaneously and set the camera to its monochrome picture Style/Picture Control/Film Simulation mode you get an indication of how the image will look in black and white. As most photographers struggle to visualise a scene in black and white, these monochrome modes are an invaluable tool that will help with composition and scene assessment. numerous cameras are also capable of producing decent in-camera monochrome images these days and it’s worth experimenting with image parameters (usually contrast, sharpness, filter effects and toning) to find a look that you like. Because compact manner cameras and compact cameras show the scene seen by the sensor with camera settings applied, users of these cameras are able to preview the monochrome image in the electronic viewfinder or on rear screen before taking the shot. DSLR users can also do this if they kick in their camera’s live notion road , but the usually slower responses mean that many will find it preferable or check the image on the screen post-capture.

Take Control. Although coloured filters should still be used to manipulate contrast when shooting digital black and white images, it’s more common to save this work until the processing stage. Until a some years ago Photoshop’s Channel Mixer was the favored means of turning colour images monochrome, but now Adobe Camera Raw has more strong tools (in the HSL/Grayscale tab) that allow you to adjust the brightness of eight individual colours that make up the image. It’s possible to adjust one of these colours to make it anything from white to black with the sliding control. However, it’s important to keep an eye on the whole image when adjusting a particular colour as subtle gradations should become unnatural looking. And adjusting the brightness of a red or rosy shirt with the red sliding control, for instance , will have an impact on the model’s skin, especially the lips. The Levels and Curves controls can also be used to manipulate tonal range and contrast, but the HSL/Grayscale controls allow you to create delineation between objects of the same brightness but with diverse colours.

Use Filters. Graduated neutral density (AKA ND grad) and polarizing filters are merely as advantageous in monochrome photography as they are in colour. In fact, because they manipulate image contrast they are arguably more useful . An ND grad is collaborative when you require to retain detail in a bright sky while a polarizing filter should be used to reduce reflections and boost contrast. Alternatively, assess taking two or more shots with different exposures to create a high dynamic range (HDR) composite. Don’t be afraid to use a ND grad with a standard neural density filter if the sky is brighter than the foreground in a long exposure shot. Coloured filters, which are an essential tool for monochrome film photographers, may also be advantageous for manipulating contrast in digital images. They work by darkening objects of his opposite colour while lightening objects of their own. An orange filter, for example, will darken the blue of the sky while a green one will lighten foliage.

Look for Contrast, Shape and Texture. The complimentary and opposing colours that bring a colour image to life are all reduced to black and white or shades of grey in a monochrome image and you have to look for tonal contrast to make a shot stand out. In colour photography, for example, your eye would instantaneously be drawn to a red object on a green background, but in monochrome photography these two areas are likely to have the same brightness, so the image looks flat and dull straight from the camera. luckily , it’s possible to work adjust the brightness of these two colours singly to introduce some contrast. However, a good starting point is to look for scenes with tonal contrast. There are always exceptions, but as a general rule look for scenes that contain some strong blacks and whites. This may be achieved by the light or by the brightness (or tone) of the objects in the scene as well as the exposure settings that you use. The brightness of the bark of a silver birch tree for example, may inject some contrast (and interest) in to a woodland scene. Setting the exposure for these brighter areas also makes the shadows darker, so the highlights stand out even more. Look for shapes, patterns and textures in a scene and move around to find the most excellent composition.

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Topic 1: Black and White Film Overview Topic 2: Preparing your 35mm Camera for Use Topic 3: How to Use the Film Camera Topic 4: Exposing Black and White Film Topic 5: Preparing Black and White Film for Development Topic 6: Developing Black and White Film Topic 7: Intro to the Darkroom Topic 8: Printing a Contact Sheet Topic 9: First Black and White Print

I urge everyone to start shooting on film as soon as possible. There’s a good chance you won’t be able to experience it in the future.

Had I shot the photo above on colour film, you’d be able to see the subject with no problem. When shooting on black and white film, it’s important to determine where the light illuminates the subject and work around that.

You don’t have this option when shooting on film. So you really have to pay attention to what it is that you want to capture and how it’s going to look in black and white.

The first thing you’ll notice when you get a roll of black and white film developed (particularly with the brand of film that I use: Ilford HP5 Plus) is that the dynamic range is a lot worse than what you’re used to with digital and colour film.

This still takes about 2 weeks or longer. I’m there regularly for printing anyway so it’s not too much of a problem.

While Guide to Film Photography has hundreds of pages regarding film photography as it pertains to both color and black and white photography, we feel that having a concise primer for black and white photography will be helpful for those looking for a quick overview. Whenever possible this black and white photography tutorial will link to other helpful pages for further review if you would like to learn more.

You need to be really careful about this. You’ll find that even landscape shots don’t come out properly, let alone photos of people indoors.

I have noticed over the past 2 years that development is getting more expensive. It’s also taking longer to do and film is becoming harder to find. If we take that as a sign of things to come, it doesn’t look too good.

My nearest lab that will actually develop it in-house is about 25 miles away. This isn’t really a lot of use as the development process itself takes a while. Instead, I take mine to my nearest major lab, who send off for it.

This added pressure of wasting money on the film and development means that you become a much more careful photographer. You consider how else each photo could be taken before actually taking it.

That is my favourite reason for shooting on black and white film. You’re forced to hone your skills much faster.

I’ve written about film photography and I’ve written about black and white photography. You’re probably wondering why I’m writing about black and white film photography.

We have a great post on how to digitize film photos you should check out. Or how about trying our black and photography challenge to keep improving your work!

Black and white film photography is all of this and more. Normally, when I take black and white photos, I shoot in colour first and convert it afterwards. This gives me more options in post production.

This really bothered me the first time I got my film back because I didn’t know about it before I shot. I hadn’t adjusted my shooting style to match it.

The effects produced and the parameters you have to work within are very different from any other type of photography. This can produce some very interesting results – results that you may associate with a much older style of photography.

That being said, there are still places around that do it at a reasonable price to a good standard. But black and white is a lot harder to get done.

This black and white photography guide will also assume a few things:

Black and white film in particular makes the skin look great. The natural grain adds texture and detail, while the lack of colour emphasises the tone of the skin.

The light is harder to control but, when you expose a photo correctly with the light in the right places, the results can be much more dramatic.

Take the photo below for example. I knew when I shot it that the left-hand side of the photo was going to be underexposed and that the right would be overexposed. This actually worked out really well.

35mm film and development is becoming increasingly scarce. This is because some of the major developers are getting rid of their wet labs, only doing digital printing.

I particularly like how the light shining on the back of the subject’s head is emphasised by the dark figure behind him.

One of my favourite things about shooting on film is how good skin looks.

That’s also one of the advantages of the poor dynamic range. The contrast on neutral colours is boosted.

The answer is simple – there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye.

A note from Josh, ExpertPhotography’s Photographer-In-Chief: Thank you for reading… CLICK HERE if you want to capture breathtaking images, without the frustration of a complicated camera. It’s my training video that will walk you how to use your camera’s functions in just 10 minutes – for free! I also offer video courses and ebooks covering the following subjects: Beginner – Intermediate Photography eBook Beginner – Intermediate Photography Video Course Landscape Photography eBook Landscape Photography Video Course Photography Blogging (Service) You could be just a few days away from finally understanding how to use your camera to take great photos! Thanks again for reading our articles!

You rely much more on composition, texture, shape and form to create a good photo, so you have to look for this before you shoot, not after.

Please also note that it would be nearly impossible to create a concise black and white photography guide by mentioning every single camera system, darkroom process and equipment, or even available film. This guide will provide general overviews that will apply to the majority of standard equipment and processes.

For many beginner film photographers, black and white photography is the first step as black and white film is generally easier to work with, develop, and print. Black and white film is much more flexible in the development process when compared to the rather stringent needs of color film. As such, many schools, universities, and other darkrooms are setup specifically for black and white photography and not color.

Once you understand how the film reacts to the light, you can use it as a creative tool in your photography.

You are using a 35mm SLR (single-lens reflex) camera with manual controls. This camera is not only the most popular option for 35mm film but is also the camera most commonly used by beginners. Some 35mm SLR cameras offer automatic controls.

These automatic controls will be discussed in brief as appropriate. You are using black and white film that can be processed with standard developers. A few black and white films are designed to be processed the same way color film is processed (known as C-41 processing).

While these films can certainly provide good results and be printed like standard black and white film, they cannot be developed in the traditional black and white developer.

In my post on film photography, I talk in detail about how shooting on film helps to hone your skill. You think a lot more about what you’re doing before taking each photo, rather than wasting a piece of 35mm film.

Mistakes can get pretty expensive if you’re not sure what you’re doing with your film camera. This forces you to quickly learn what you’re doing wrong.